Consultant Was Hired Despite Cost, Warnings

The company conducting a management audit for Oxnard was hired even though its rates were more than three times higher than those of the lowest bidder, and it had a history of recommending drastic cuts in police and fire services, city officials said Thursday.

City officials are hoping that the report by Cresap Management Consultants will point out ways to reduce Oxnard’s projected $2.8-million budget deficit without forcing them to make drastic cuts in services and personnel.

Earlier this week, the City Council started discussing ways to avoid the deficit, but decided to delay budget decisions until the report is released Tuesday.

But some officials have warned that Cresap has a reputation for recommending deep cuts in police and fire services, instead of coming up with less drastic ways to pare a deficit.

Councilwoman Ann Johs said Thursday that she recommended Cresap despite a warning that the firm had received mixed reviews in other cities.

Before the council hired Cresap in February, Johs said Police Chief Robert Owens warned her that the Washington-based firm had a history of recommending drastic cuts in public safety departments. But Johs said she shrugged off the warning as an attempt to avoid police layoffs.

Johs and Councilwomen Dorothy Maron and Geraldine (Gerry) Furr voted to hire the firm, and Mayor Nao Takasugi and Councilman Manuel Lopez voted against it.

Cresap was hired despite objections from Takasugi and Lopez, who said the rates charged by the firm are more than three times higher than those of the lowest bidder for the service.

In an interview Thursday, Lopez said it was a mistake for the city to pay Cresap $250,000 for the audit when another firm offered to do the job for $70,000.

“We were out of our gourd to select them,” he said.

Cresap Vice President Bill Evans could not be reached for comment Thursday. However, a press statement released Thursday said Cresap has been a reputable company since it started doing business more than 40 years ago.

Cresap was originally scheduled to complete the audit by May 30 but asked and was granted an extension until Tuesday.

Takasugi publicly criticized Cresap last month for suggesting in private conversations that the city cut 41 positions in the Police Department and 18 positions in the Fire Department, close two fire stations and sell some city parks.

Lopez said Owens had warned him about Cresap’s reputation but he said he could not remember if he talked to Owens before or after the Cresap contract was approved.

Owens declined to discuss the matter Thursday, saying he did not want to publicly discuss his private conversations with the council.

Johs said she recommended the firm to the council after hearing Evans speak at a California League of Cities meeting last year. She acknowledged that Cresap has received mixed reviews in some cities but said the company also has received praise from many other cities.

“A lot of cities have called and hired them back,” she said.

As for the higher rates charged by Cresap, Johs said the company’s experience and reputation are worth it.

“They were head and shoulders above all the other candidates,” she said.

Takasugi, who said he voted against Cresap because of the high costs, said he had never talked to Owens about the firm’s reputation.

The council chose Cresap after another auditing firm it hired for $80,000 included Cresap in a list of three finalists. Maron and Furr said they relied on the recommendations and did not personally investigate Cresap.

Roger Fong, personnel director for the city of Stockton, said Cresap received mixed reviews after it completed a comprehensive efficiency study of that city in 1987.

“Some people said they did a wonderful job, others said they did a lousy job,” he said.

Cresap was criticized by some Stockton officials for recommending personnel cuts in that city’s Police Department, which were implemented at the time, he said.

“If their job was to examine our efficiency and make changes, they did their job,” he said. “But some people would say they cut the heart out of the Police Department.”

In Flint, Mich., Cresap was hired in 1987 to study a morale problem in the Police Department and review the efficiency of its foot patrols.

Melvin McKree, a former Flint councilman who voted to hire Cresap, said the firm also received mixed reviews after it proposed ending the foot patrols. He said most of the recommendations that were implemented saved the city money despite concerns from citizens about safety.